Industry Interviews

Cocktails and Recipes

Follow Me on Twitter!

Copyright

Copyright is inherent when an original work is created. This means that the producer of original work is automatically granted copyright protection. This copyright protection not only exists in North America, but extends to other countries as well.
Thus, all of the work produced on this blog is protected by copyright, including all of the pictures and all of the articles. These original works may not be copied or reused in any way whatsoever without the permission of the author, Chip Dykstra.

Email Subscription

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Visitors

Lambs Blacksheep Spiced Rum

Lamb’s Blacksheep Spiced Rum is part of the Corby stable of North American Brands. This is what the Corby’s website has to say regarding the Blacksheep …

“…Lamb’s® Black Sheep Spiced Rum is produced and blended in small batches to ensure consistency of the complex flavour profile that is unique to the rum category. Our ingredients – the finest cinnamon from Korintje, Madagascar-bourbon vanilla and lime essence from Mexico have been carefully selected from around the world to ensure optimal enjoyment on the palate…”

The rum is bottled at 37.5 % alcohol by volume and sold in the attractive 750 ml bottle shown below.

In the Bottle: (4.5/5)

As you can see, the hexagonal Lamb’s bottle is attractive as is the professional label with the strong fonts and colors which hint at the cinnamon flavours found inside. The presentation is quite satisfactory. The plastic screw cap is much preferred over those pressed on metal caps I still see, but a nice satisfying cork would have been grand.

In the Glass: (8.5/10)

I noticed a light amount of oil in the glass with skinny legs that swim back into the rum when the glass is tilted. The firm scent of cinnamon is in the air as is a healthy dose of vanilla. the combination reminds me of those tiny red heart-shaped candies I used to buy as a kid.

Behind the cinnamon and the vanilla is a mild caramel scent; but I detect very little if any lime essence nor any oak spices which of course might be lost in the cinnamon.

In the Mouth (50/60)

I would classify this rum as a mixer rather than a sipper. It’s not that I can’t sip Lamb’s Blacksheep, I can and occasionally I do; but, the flavour profile is like a sweet cinnamon candy. I like this overcharge of cinnamon, and the inviting vanilla underneath, but drinking the rum neat is kind of like nibbling that sweet candy. You like it, but if you have it too often the flavours become cloying.

Mixed with cola is a whole other matter, the Blacksheep is delicious mixed. In fact, Lamb’s Blacksheep rum does not need to be mixed with cola, it is very versatile. I made a great spiced peach punch for my Superbowl party this year using the Lamb’s Blacksheep as the base spirit, and earlier in my explorations I made some wicked spiced rum balls.

In the Throat (12.5/15)

The finish is all cinnamon and vanilla, with a nice kick that stems from the spice rather than the alcohol. This is a 75 proof spirit, which is slightly higher than most spiced rums in the market place; but I wish it had more alcohol push to go with the cinnamon kick.

The Afterburn (8.5/10)

When I first tried this rum, I was delighted by the unique flavor profile. Over time I have found that this flavour profile can become cloying if I return too often. However, I still love using this rum for mixed cocktails where the unique spicy attitude works extremely well.

If you are interested in comparing more scores, here is a link to my other published Rum Reviews.

My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret the score as follows:

0-25 A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49 Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59 You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69 Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74 Now we have a fair mixing rum or whisky. Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79 You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84 We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89 Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94 Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+ I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and Bronze medal scale as follows:

Share this:

Like this:

17 Responses to “Lambs Blacksheep Spiced Rum”

Larry D.said

Enjoyed your analogy of Black Sheep, mixed with the humour to get your message through.. I tend my “flock” almost daily, and I take it right on the rocks as I hate to lose the flavour in a cola.. I have been a rum drinker since the Boer War, and there is none finer than this baby. I just converted to a Spiced Rum because of Black Sheep.. Larry D. Thunder Bay Ont.

Anomallysaid

Anomallysaid

They have upped the alcohol content to 43% now. After about a two week absence from the store shelves here in Regina, Lamb’s Black Sheep has returned with a new label with a pirate on it and at the bottom what appears to be a dubloon with 43% alc/vol on it. Still tastes great :-)

Profsaid

Wow this is good stuff!! Great with ginger ale!!
Looking forward to trying other Lamb’s products and that Sailor Jerry’s sounds interesting too.
How does Capt Morgan’s Spiced compare and are there other ones that I should check out. I assume that each one is different than the other even though they are all called ‘spiced rum’.

Profsaid

Jeff Allensaid

Boxysaid

I just picked up my first bottle of Black Sheep last weekend. Wow! I first tried it straight – about 1/2 an ounce – and was amazed. It goes with just about anything, whether a simple rum & coke or an exotic cocktail. I used it in a cocktail called a Tahitian Tiki Moon, and received compliments all evening. I’ve previously used Sailor Jerry (which I still like, don’t get me wrong) but Black Sheep definitely has a place in my home bar.